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Select board assigns preliminary investigator after conflict-of-interest complaint over municipal budget committee representative
Summary
The board said it received a complaint about the select board’s representative to the municipal budget committee and by consensus designated a disinterested member to conduct an initial inquiry with the town administrator and report back with recommendations.
The Deerfield select board disclosed that it received a conflict-of-interest complaint alleging problems with how the board’s representative to the municipal budget committee (MBC) has represented the select board.
The chair told the board the complaint was filed by a town employee and described the board’s standard procedure: appoint a disinterested member to work with the town administrator on a preliminary investigation to determine whether a reasonable person could conclude a conflict exists. The board agreed by consensus to ask Greg Whitmore to serve as the disinterested representative on the inquiry team.
The chair said the investigation is expected to be preliminary and to result either in suggested remedial actions or a recommendation for further review. "We have received a conflict of interest complaint form," the chair said, and added that the town administrator and the appointed member would bring findings and recommendations back to the select board.
Board members emphasized procedural fairness; some public commenters raised concerns that the matter looked like "inside baseball" and suggested at least a third-party reviewer could be considered. The board’s initial step is an internal preliminary inquiry; any further steps will depend on the outcome of that review.
